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Why Susie Sells Seashells by the Seashore: Implicit Egotism and Major Life Decisions

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Why Susie Sells Seashells by the Seashore: Implicit Egotism and Major Life Decisions ATTITUDES AND SOCIAL COGNITION Why Susie Sells Seashells by the Seashore: Implicit Egotism and Major Life Decisions Brett W. Pelham, Matthew C. Mirenberg, and John T. Jones State University of New York at Buffalo Because most people possess positive associations about themselves, most people prefer things that are connected to the self (e.g., the letters in one’s name). The authors refer to such preferences as implicit egotism. Ten studies assessed the role of implicit egotism in 2 major life decisions: where people choose to live and what people choose to do for a living. Studies 1–5 showed that people are disproportionately likely to live in places whose names resemble their own first or last names (e.g., people named Louis are disproportionately likely to live in St. Louis). Study 6 extended this finding to birthday number preferences. People were disproportionately likely to live in cities whose names began with their birthday numbers (e.g., Two Harbors, MN). Studies 7–10 suggested that people disproportionately choose careers whose labels resemble their names (e.g., people named Dennis or Denise are overrepresented among dentists). Implicit egotism appears to influence major life decisions. This idea stands in sharp contrast to many models of rational choice and attests to the importance of understanding implicit beliefs. What role do people’s thoughts and feelings about themselves important role in major life decisions. For example, only a handful play in their important day-to-day decisions and behaviors? Con- of studies have examined whether self-regulation processes influ- temporary research on the self-concept suggests many answers to ence people’s choice of relationship partners. Moreover, for prac- this question. For example, the desire to maintain positive feelings tical reasons, most of these studies have examined attraction to about the self appears to influence things as diverse as whether strangers in the laboratory rather than attraction to long-term people derogate those who criticize their governments (Pyszczyn- relationship partners (Huston & Levinger, 1978; but cf. Murray, ski, Greenberg, & Solomon, 1997, 1999), whether people sabotage Holmes, & Griffin, 1996; Swann, Hixon, & de la Ronde, 1992). the performance of others when playing a game (Tesser & Smith, We thus know relatively little about whether self-evaluations or 1981), what people find rational (Kunda, 1990), and what people self-concept motives influence important decisions such as where find humorous (Wills, 1981). Like people’s social beliefs and people choose to live and what people choose to do for a living. behavior, people’s beliefs about themselves are also influenced Is there any reason to believe that self-evaluation shapes impor- by the desire to view the self favorably. Most people have tant life decisions? Consider the decisions of (a) choosing a city or mostly favorable beliefs about themselves (see Crocker & Ma- state in which to live and (b) choosing a career. At first blush, it jor, 1989; Greenberg & Pyszczynski, 1985; Miller & Ross, might seem that these decisions are largely independent. That is, 1975; Paulhus & Levitt, 1987; Taylor & Brown, 1988; but cf. there would appear to be no unifying psychological thread that Kruger, 1999). connects a person’s taste in cities and career tracks. This does not In short, a great deal of evidence suggests that the motivation to mean that these important decisions are completely unrelated. feel good about the self plays a role in a wide variety of important Consider the dentist who is offered jobs in Milwaukee and in social behaviors. To our knowledge, however, very little research Phoenix. She might choose the job in Phoenix—either because it on the self-concept addresses whether self-evaluation plays an offers her greater professional rewards or because it offers her the promise of milder winters. Such obvious connections aside, how- ever, it might be asking quite a bit of a single self-evaluative mechanism to predict people’s taste in both hometowns and Brett W. Pelham, Matthew C. Mirenberg, and John T. Jones, Depart- occupations. ment of Psychology, State University of New York at Buffalo. We thank Mauricio Carvallo, Joanne Davila, Tracy Dehart, Curtis Hardin, Sandra Murray, Shirley Owens, Mike Ross, and the participants Implicit Egotism of the 2000 Ontario Symposium for their insightful comments on this research. Or would it? Research in implicit social cognition suggests that Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Brett W. many mundane judgments and behaviors are influenced by potent Pelham, State University of New York, University at Buffalo, Park Hall— and pervasive unconscious motives. For example, Greenwald and Department of Psychology, Buffalo, New York 14260-4110. E-mail: Banaji (1995) argued that the desire to feel good about the self [email protected] permeates a wide range of social judgments. As an example, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 2002, Vol. 82, No. 4, 469–487 Copyright 2002 by the American Psychological Association, Inc. 0022-3514/02/$5.00 DOI: 10.1037//0022-3514.82.4.469 469 470 PELHAM, MIRENBERG, AND JONES students’ evaluations of instructors’ teaching skills tend to be more mere exposure. Instead, like the mere ownership effect, the favorable when instructors give more lenient grades. Presumably, name letter effect appears to qualify as a form of implicit this is true because instructors who give students high grades egotism (Greenwald & Banaji, 1995; Nuttin, 1987). The essen- satisfy students’ desires for favorable feedback. That is, uncon- tial idea behind implicit egotism is that people should prefer scious self-enhancement seems to bias students’ evaluations of people, places, and things that they associate (unconsciously) their instructors’ teaching skills. As noted previously, researchers with the self. have long assumed that people have a basic desire to feel good Although examples of unconscious self-enhancement have been about themselves (Allport, 1961; James, 1890/1950). What sets documented for a variety of judgments and decisions, virtually all recent research on self-enhancement apart from a great deal of of the past research on unconscious self-enhancement simply earlier research is the contemporary assumption that many self- documents the existence of positive associations to the self (but see enhancing social cognitions occur automatically or unconsciously Greenwald & Banaji, 1995, for some exceptions). For instance, (Greenwald & Banaji, 1995; Hetts, Sakuma, & Pelham, 1999; whereas existing research leaves little doubt that people like the Jones, Pelham, Mirenberg, & Hetts, 2002; Paulhus & Levitt, 1987; letters in their own names, we know of no previous research Pelham & Hetts, 1999; Perdue, Dovidio, Gurtman, & Tyler, 1990; examining behavioral consequences of the name letter effect. To Pyszczynski et al., 1997, 1999). our knowledge, the closest thing to this is Miller, Downs, and Research on unconscious self-enhancement—or what we call Prentice’s (1998) finding that people are nicer than usual to strang- implicit egotism—suggests that people’s positive automatic asso- ers who happen to share their birthdays. In particular, Miller et ciations about themselves may influence their feelings about al- most anything that people associate with the self. For example, al.’s participants played more cooperatively than usual with a research on the mere ownership effect shows that giving people bogus interaction partner (in a prisoner’s dilemma game) when objects such as pens or keychains causes people to evaluate these they thought they and their partner had the same birthday (see also object more favorably than they would otherwise (Beggan, 1992; Finch & Cialdini, 1989). If people truly prefer the specific letters Kahneman, Knetsch, & Thaler, 1990; Van Boven, Dunning, & that appear in their own names, then we might expect people to Loewenstein, 2000). If people instantly acquire positive feelings prefer physical or social objects that either contain or are repre- about objects once these objects become part of the self, it stands sented by these same letters. For example, consider the case of a to reason that people should develop deep and abiding affections hypothetical person named Steve Spencer. If the name letter effect for objects that are chronically associated with the self. In support has implications for important social behaviors, it might not be too of this idea, research on the name letter effect (Kitayama & far-fetched to expect Steve to prefer to vacation in Sarasota rather Karasawa, 1997; Nuttin, 1985, 1987) shows that people like the than Miami, to choose to study stereotyping rather than attitudes, letters that appear in their own names quite a bit more than they or to find himself collaborating with colleagues named Steven Fine like letters that do not. This effect occurs for all of the letters in (or Clyde Steele) rather than Russ Lazio. Although Steve would people’s names, but it is particularly pronounced for people’s first probably be unaware of the affective basis of his judgment, some- and last initials. This presumably unconscious self-enhancing bias thing about names such as Sarasota, stereotyping, and Steele has been documented in at least 14 countries (e.g., Greece, Japan, should just feel good (Greenwald & Banaji, 1995; Lewicki, 1985; Spain, the United States). Nisbett & Wilson, 1977; Staats & Staats, 1957, 1958). Although a high level of exposure to the letters that occur in In this article, we present evidence from a wide range of archival one’s own name probably plays a role in the development of the studies that examined two different behavioral consequences of name letter effect (see Zajonc, 1968), it seems unlikely that the implicit egotism: (a) choosing a city or state in which to live and name letter effect is determined exclusively by mere exposure (b) choosing a career. Because the name letter effect lends itself (Nuttin, 1987). Consider a recent study of unmarried Japanese particularly well to archival research using public records (e.g., college students conducted by Kitayama and Karasawa (1997).
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